World-bound
Gilas Pilipinas celebrates after beating Kazakhstan to clinch a ticket to the Fiba World Cup in China. Photo from Fiba.com
The Philippines will make its way back to the Fiba World Cup, thanks in large part to Andray Blatche whose erratic performances in the past had coaching staff leaving him out of one qualifying window last year.
The naturalized player completed an effort to remember on Sunday night in Astana, leading the Philippines to a 93-75 demolition of Kazakhstan and back to the global stage.
The win allowed the Philippines to finish fourth in Group F and with a superior 7-5 record compared to Lebanon, the No. 4 team in Group E with a 6-6 card.
This will mark the second straight edition that the Philippines will be playing in the World Cup after 2014 in Spain where it won its first classification match in 40 years, an 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal.
Coach Yeng Guiao acknowledged the importance of Blatche, whom he didn’t suit up in a game against Iran last November that put the Philippines on the edge after a 70-78 loss at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“We didn’t have Andray, that was one big factor,” Guiao told Fiba.com, even as Blatche was already eligible for reinstatement that time after serving out a three-game suspension in the aftermath of the infamous brawl with Australia last year.
On fire
Blatche scored 17 points in the first quarter and cranked up the Philippine offense, finishing with 41—easily his best game in a Philippine uniform.
“Andray was on fire,” Guiao said. “He just took over the game. If it weren’t for Andray, we would have been down by 15 points early.”
Getting Clarkson
Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is trying to convince Fiba to accept Clarkson as a Filipino citizen.
“We have been trying to convince or discuss the matter with Fiba,” SBP president Al Panlilio told AFP. “Everyone is working on the matter and we will do everything we can.”
“Based on our constitution, he is Filipino. He has a passport. But he got it after he was 16 years old,” Panlilio added.
Fiba requires players to acquire a legal nationality before the age of 16.
The international basketball federation also restricts each team to one naturalized player, meaning the Philippines would have to choose between the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard and Blatche.
Other key men
June Mar Fajardo also stepped up, taking over Blatche when the former Brooklyn Net and Washington Wizard picked up his fourth foul with 3:45 left in the third quarter
Blatche was all praises for the reigning five-time Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, who was reported to be nursing flu-like symptoms since last week.
“June Mar was really the game changer for us,” Blatche said. “We knew what was at stake for us, either we win or go home.”
PH also demolished Qatar, 84-46, in Doha on Thursday.
Japan, Iran, Jordan, Russia, Serbia and Cote d’Ivoire also punched tickets to the global cage meet slated in eight cities in China from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15. Three more countries—2 from the Americas and 1 from Europe—will complete the first ever 32-nation field.
